Boswell confident in support services
Both the deaths of Ching Kin Lueng in December 2002 and Lauren R. Thompson in June 2002 were deemed suicides by the state medical examiner's office. Boswell stated that despite their proximity, the two events were dissimilar and completely unrelated.
"Any suicide is alarming and terribly sad," said Boswell, "[but] I don't see that these two situations are related in any way. The circumstances involved were dramatically different."
While Boswell was unable to elaborate on the specifics of these circumstances, she did state that "when a person is desperate enough to take his own life, there are a variety of factors."
Mond agreed with Boswell, stating that while there was "no evidence one way or the other" in regard to whether the seemingly high rate is significant or merely coincidental, he did not feel that it signifies an "epidemic."
"Every single death diminishes us," said Mond. "But there is nothing I can observe [that is] unique to Hopkins. In the big picture, [the number of student suicides] works out to the number you would statistically expect."
According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the 2000 national average for suicides in any age group was 10.6 per 100,000 people. A report by The Boston Globe in February 2001, which ranked the suicide rates since 1990 at 12 universities with strong science and engineering programs, recorded Hopkins' rate at 6.9 per 100,000, the third highest rate out of the 12 schools sampled. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) ranked first with a rate of 10.2, and Harvard ranked second with a rate of 7.4. The Boston Globe estimated the average suicide rate for all colleges to be about 7 per 100,000; most of the colleges sampled in the study fell below that rate.
Debate still exists as to whether The Boston Globe results might be skewed, since many comparable colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Stanford, Columbia, Carnegie Mellon and Yale, did not provide data for the study.
Boswell reported that there have been five suicides at Hopkins since 1990, four of which were undergraduates and one of which was a graduate student. Of the five suicides, four occurred in Baltimore.
Regarding the two recent suicides at Hopkins, Mond feels there is "no need to jump to conclusions."
"Is this [occurrence] a blipor is something going on? We don't know for sure," said Mond. "I think it's always good to pay attention to try and understand [the problem of suicide] more and more. But I don't see the need to assume anything unusual is going on... Sometimes things happen in close proximity."
According to Boswell, the two incidents have not prompted any specific plans to change the current counseling system at Hopkins.
"The University always looks at ways of improving services to students," said Boswell. "I believe that the current model is particularly appropriate for a student population and... a great number of students take advantage of the services that are offered."
Mond agreed that student usage of Counseling Center services is high. According to the 2001-2002 Annual Report and Data Summary, which was released by the Counseling Center in June 2002, a total of 801 clients were seen in personal counseling during the past year.
Another statistic in the report shows that 38 percent of all undergraduates at Hopkins will visit the Counseling Center before they graduate.
According to Mond, these numbers are greater than at "comparable universities." Mond considers this high student response "a good thing."
"It means [Hopkins students] are more sophisticated...and more aware," said Mond.
Of the total 801 clients seen by the Counseling Center from June 2001 to June 2002, 161 clients "reported some suicidal thought at intake;" in other words, 20 percent of all clients seen at the Counseling Center indicated some sort of suicidal thought at their first visit. Eight percent of those 161 clients "reported moderate, serious, or severe suicidal thoughts."
Since 1996, the Counseling Center has used a suicide-tracking program to monitor students at risk for suicide.
Developed as part of a research project with David Jobes, a suicidologist at Catholic University, the Suicide Tracking System uses a special assessment protocol to determine at-risk clients, and then closely monitors and reviews those clients until they meet the criteria indicating the risk for suicide has passed.
Jobes serves as a consultant for the Counseling Center, and the Center helps provide him with data for ongoing analysis of treatment outcomes.
Mond feels that Hopkins is a pioneer in the use of such a program, since other universities are now adopting similar systems. According to Mond, clients are aware when they are placed in the Suicide Tracking System, and have been generally receptive to it.
"I think [the clients] are glad we're paying attention," said Mond.
The Counseling Center also provides a "24/7 on-call system" for emergencies, according to Mond. At any given time, one of the Center's psychologists carries a pager; if an emergency occurs after hours, students can call Hopkins Security at extension 7777 and be patched through to the on-call psychologist.
Students who call the security office to use this service are never required to give their names. According to the Center's data, 65 out of the year's 801 clients were served after hours.
Due to confidentiality laws, the Counseling Center was unable to disclose whether or not Lueng or Thompson had ever been in contact with the University's counseling services. Mond does believe, however, that the services offered have benefited a large number of students.
"I would say we've helped a lot of people," said Mond.
Mond feels it remains to be seen whether the recent increase in Hopkins' student suicide rate indicates a significant trend. He does speculate, however, that all college campuses might be experiencing "an added layer of anxiety and stress" following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
Larry Benedict, dean for student life at MIT, also reported that he had seen "a change in the tenor and tone on campus" following Sept. 11. Benedict served as Dean for Student Affairs at Hopkins from 1992 to 2000, and took part in MIT's Mental Health Task Force in November 2001.
Benedict indicated that school administrations must "understand the needs of students" in order to provide them with adequate mental health care. According to Benedict, MIT took a "comprehensive community approach" to reviewing and modifying mental health services by providing outreach education to staff, creating focus groups and evaluating data.
According to Mond, Hopkins also focuses on educating its staff about mental health issues. Mond emphasized that faculty, administrators and residential advisors are trained and informed about warning signs of mental distress, and are given guidance on how to help students seek assistance.
A pamphlet is distributed by the Counseling Center to faculty and staff that gives advice on how to approach and talk to students with possible mental health issues, and how to use the resources of the Counseling Center for assistance. Guidelines are also given for dealing with potentially suicidal students; the pamphlet urges those who are worried about a student's well-being to "directly ask if he or she is thinking about killing him or herself."
If danger appears imminent, the pamphlet advises, one should immediately call campus security or 911.
According to the annual report, 49 percent of all 801 clients seen by the Counseling Center were self-referred. Thirteen percent were referred by friends, however, and many others were referred by the Student Health & Wellness Center, academic advising, the dean of students, relatives, faculty and other administrators.
According to Mond, the dean of students has the ability to mandate that a student obtain professional help. Mond stated that while the Counseling Center does not like to exercise this option, they are "obliged" to ensure safety when a student is "a danger to self or others."